Electronic watermark-containing moving picture transmission system, electronic watermark-containing moving picture transmission method, information processing device, communication control device, electronic watermark-containing moving picture processing program, and storage medium containing electronic watermark-containing

ABSTRACT

A technique is disclosed involving embedding plural differing digital watermarks into one type of input moving image data, creating plural moving image data series, encoding the created moving image data series, generating a new moving image data series from the moving image data series based on addition ID information, and transferring the new moving image data series or transmitting the same via a network. At a reception side, the data series is decoded/reproduced, the reproduced image data are divided into plural regions, and a digital watermark is detected for each of the divided regions so that the addition ID information may be detected.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a digitalwatermark-containing moving image transmission technique, andparticularly to a technique of secretly embedding individual addition IDinformation that is set for each session for delivering moving imagedata to each individual user as a digital watermark into moving imagedata in a moving image display system that stores and displays digitalmoving image data, or a moving image delivery system that transmitsstored digital moving image data using a network, and presents the datato a network-connected user.

BACKGROUND ART

In constructing a video-on-demand system for storing digital videocontents in a server, and displaying the contents on the site ordelivering the contents via a network according to a user request,preventing unauthorized use and leakage of the contents is one importantissue that needs to be addressed. Various measures are used to realizecontent protection including setting access authority in the server toenable only authorized users to access the contents, conductingauthentication using a specific ID assigned to a user terminal such asin a mobile telephone, and encrypting data so that only authorized userswill be able to decode the data using a decryption key, for example.

As security techniques for ensuring copyright protection and preventingillegal content copying and distribution, the digital watermarkingtechnique may be used in addition to authentication and encryptiontechniques. The digital watermarking technique embeds ID informationinto digital contents such as audio, music, still images, and videowithout affecting the quality of the digital content. Although thistechnique itself does not realize a function of blocking illegal copyinglike the encryption technique, hidden information such as thatindicating the original owner of contents that have been copied may beextracted using this technique, and thereby, it may be possible to claimcopyrights to the contents that have been illegally copied, for example(e.g., see “Digital Watermarking Techniques and their ComparativeIndexes”, Matsui, Journal of the Institute of Image ElectronicsEngineers of Japan, Vol. 27, No. 5, pp. 483-491, 1998).

It is noted that there are mainly two methods for embedding a digitalwatermark in an image signal (e.g., see “Video Watermarking”, Sakazawa,Journal of the Institute of Image Electronics Engineers of Japan, Vol.31, No. 3, pp. 421-425, 2002).

A first one of the methods involves dividing the pixels of image datainto plural blocks, and directly embedding watermark information intobit information representing the brightness of the pixels (pixelbrightness value). This method relies on the nature of human vision;that is, this method relies on the fact that a signal corresponding to adark pixel located close to a bright pixel is difficult to recognize,and a slight change in brightness as a result of manipulation of a lowerbit is not easily perceptible, for example. The method as is describedabove involving direct manipulation of the pixel brightness value hasthe advantage of requiring a small computation load. However, thismethod is disadvantageous in that the information added as a digitalwatermark may often be lost and fail to be reproduced as a result ofimage processes such as encoding, compression, or alteration of theimage.

The other one of the methods involves transforming the image data intofrequency components through fast Fourier transform (FFT), spectraldiffusion, or discrete cosine transform (DCT), for example, andembedding watermark information into a particular frequency componentwhile minimizing its influence on image quality. FIG.1 illustrates anexample of using spectral diffusion to embed addition information as adigital watermark into one frame of an image signal. In this example, apseudo random number data series having the same size as the image isprovided, and this is divided into image plane regions. The pseudorandom number data of the respective image regions are multiplied by 1or −1 according to the bit sequence [0, 1] of the watermark informationto be added to create a modulated pseudo random number data series. Animage obtained by adding such data series to the original image signalis output as a watermark-containing image.

At the apparatus reproducing the image, a correlation coefficientbetween the watermark-containing image and the pre-modulated pseudorandom number data is calculated for each region to reproduce theembedded watermark information bit sequence.

In this case, in order to maintain the quality of the image, theamplitude of the pseudo random number data is preferably set to be aslow as possible. However, when the amplitude of the pseudo random numberdata is low, watermark information may be easily lost upon processingand compression of the watermark-containing image. Accordingly,trade-off between the above factors needs to be considered. Also, it isnoted that the pseudo random number data and the division method fordividing an image into regions for the respective bits of the watermarkinformation correspond to keys for reproducing the watermarkinformation, and need to be kept under strict secrecy by the rightfulowner of the contents.

Such a method involving transforming the image data into frequencycomponents is advantageous in that the embedded watermark information isnot easily lost through image processes such as image alteration orencoding/compression. However, this method has a disadvantage in thatthe processing time for embedding and extracting watermark informationmay be long since frequency transform and inverse transform processesneed to be performed.

It is noted that by using the technique of embedding ID information asdigital watermarks, the ownership of contents may be easily proved;however, this in itself does not have the effect of thwarting illegalcopying. Thus, it is necessary to identify a copying source fromillegally copied contents by embedding different sets of ID informationinto each set of contents being delivered through a network. If a systemcan be realized for determining the leakage (illegal usage) route ofcontents and identifying a willful infringer, such a system may make agreat contribution to preventing illegal copying.

On the other hand, in the case of handling contents with a largecapacity such as digital cinema and other contents adopting high imagequality, the video contents to be delivered via a network areconventionally encoded and compressed due to restrictions in thetransmission band and transmission cost for delivering the videocontents. In this case, as is shown in FIG. 2, the digital watermarkinformation needs to be embedded before encoding the contents.

However, in a video contents display system for embedding digitalwatermarks into video contents according to the prior art, if watermarkinformation is individually assigned to contents being delivered to eachindividual user, the process of adding digital watermarks has to beperformed each time contents are delivered to a particular user. Also,in the case of conducting network transmission, since theencoded/compressed moving image data are stored in the server, theencoded data have to be decoded to conduct a process of embeddingwatermark information, and encoded once more. Such processes require alarge computation work load, and are impractical both from a technicaland economical standpoint.

This technical problem is exacerbated in the case of delivering videocontents having a large capacity such as digital cinema. As a result,illegal copying of contents may not be effectively prevented by addingindividual digital watermark information in the manner described above.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been conceived in response to the problemsdescribed above, and its object is to provide a technique relating todigital watermark-containing moving image transmission that isimplemented upon storing and displaying digital moving image data ortransmitting the digital moving image data via a network, the techniquebeing configured to prevent illegal copying through identifying theaccess route of delivered moving image data that are illegally used orillegally copied.

The above object of the present invention may be achieved by providing adigital watermark-containing moving image transmission system including:

a moving image reproducing apparatus that includes

-   -   moving image input means for inputting one type of moving image        data;    -   watermark-containing data generating means for embedding a        plurality of differing sets of digital watermark information        into the input moving image data, creating a plurality of        watermark-containing moving image data series, and encoding the        created watermark-containing moving image data series;    -   ID information adding means for generating a new moving image        data series from the plural watermark-containing moving image        data series based on addition ID information including coded        information corresponding to at least one of moving image        identification information, time/date information, and user        information;    -   reproducing means for decoding and displaying the moving image        data series generated by the ID information adding means; and

an addition ID information detecting apparatus that divides the movingimage data series displayed by the moving image reproducing apparatusinto a plurality of regions, and detects the addition ID information foreach of the divided regions using a digital watermark detecting circuit.

The above object may also be achieved by providing an informationprocessing apparatus that is configured to transmit stored digitalmoving image data via a network, the apparatus including:

moving image input means for inputting one type of moving image data;

watermark-containing data generating means for embedding a plurality ofdiffering sets of digital watermark information into the input movingimage data, creating a plurality of watermark-containing moving imagedata series, and encoding the created watermark-containing moving imagedata series; and

ID information adding means for generating a new moving image dataseries from the plural watermark-containing moving image data seriesbased on addition ID information including coded informationcorresponding to at least one of moving image identificationinformation, time/date information, and user information.

It is noted that in one preferred embodiment of the present invention,the ID information adding means may be configured to successively selectone image frame from a plurality of image frames of the plural movingimage data series based on the addition ID information and output thesuccessively selected image frames as the new moving image data series.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the IDinformation adding means may be configured to successively select onegroup of image frames from a plurality of groups of image frames of theplural moving image data series based on the addition ID information andoutput the successively selected group of image frames as the new movingimage data series.

According to another preferred embodiment, in the information processingapparatus of the present invention,

each of a plurality of image frames of the plural moving image dataseries may be spatially divided into a plurality of regions, and aplurality of divided region moving image data series may be generatedfor each of the divided regions; and

the ID information adding means may be configured to successively selectone divided region image frame from a plurality of divided region imageframes of the plural divided region moving image data seriescorresponding to one of the divided regions based on the addition IDinformation, compose the successively selected divided region imageframes corresponding to said one of the divided regions withsuccessively selected divided region image frames corresponding toanother one of the divided regions, and output the composed dividedregion image frames as the new moving image data series.

The above object may also be achieved by providing a communicationcontrol apparatus in a system including a server and a terminal that areconnected to a network, the apparatus including:

means for receiving a plurality of watermark-containing moving imagedata series from the server or another communication apparatus;

ID information adding means for generating a new moving image dataseries from the received plural watermark-containing moving image dataseries based on addition ID information including coded informationcorresponding to at least one of moving image identificationinformation, time/date information, and user information; and

moving image delivering means for delivering the moving image dataseries generated by the ID information adding means to the terminal oranother communication control apparatus.

As is described above, according to the present invention, pluraldigital watermark-containing moving image data series corresponding toone type of moving image data having plural differing sets of digitalwatermark information added thereto are created beforehand. Also,encoding/compression processes may be performed beforehand as isnecessary or desired. Then, one of the plural digitalwatermark-containing moving image data series is successively selectedwith respect to the time direction; namely, with respect to every imageframe, to compose a new moving image data series. Alternatively, eachimage frame of the plural moving image data series may be divided intoregions to created plural divided region moving image data series, and acorresponding data portion may be retrieved from the divided regionmoving image data series for every divided region to compose a wholeimage. It is noted that the process of composing one moving image dataseries through partial selection of plural moving image data series maybe performed at a node (communication control apparatus) on a network.Also, a redundant encoding process may be performed on the digitalwatermark information beforehand, and the frame/divided region selectionprocess may be performed based on the processing results thereof.

It is noted that in the case of composing moving image data in frameunits, identification information indicating the digital watermarkinformation that is added to the respective frames of the moving imagedata may be embedded into the moving image data as addition information(addition ID information); and in the case of implementing image planedivision, identification information indicating the digital watermarkinformation added to the respective divided image regions may beembedded into the moving image data as addition information (addition IDinformation). In such cases, an image may have digital watermarksembedded therein in frame units or in divided region units and beencoded/compressed beforehand so that upon transmission, a moving imagedata series with the desired addition information added thereto may beeasily generated by merely performing partial selection of data, andcomposition thereof. Accordingly, individual addition ID information maybe assigned to large capacity contents such as movies through real-timeprocessing.

Also, even in a case where plural users reside in the delivery network,by arranging the division/composition processes to be performed at anedge node (communication control apparatus) closest to the user terminalwithin the delivery network, individual addition ID information may beassigned to the respective users with a video stream limited to thetypes of digital watermarks by creating different combinations thereof.

Also, by performing redundant encoding on the addition ID informationusing error correction codes, even when digital watermark information islost due to editing of contents, such an error may be corrected and thedigital watermark information may be properly reproduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a fundamental principle of digitalwatermarking (in the case of implementing the spectral diffusionmethod);

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying digitalwatermark-containing image data according to the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a fundamental configuration of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a fundamental principle of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatusaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data series that is generated at anID information adding unit according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating operations according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an ID information adding circuit thatdecomposes and composes a video sequence in frame units (in time series)and an addition ID information extracting circuit according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a sequence chart illustrating operations according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration accordingto a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a delivery networknode according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a sequence chart illustrating operations according to thethird embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of adding five bits ofaddition ID information according to a first example of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an ID informationadding circuit that decomposes and composes a video stream in dividedimage region units according to a third example of the presentinvention;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of decomposing/composing avideo stream in divided image region units based on addition IDinformation according to the third example of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary video delivery systemaccording to a fourth example of the present invention that uses aplurality of video streams corresponding to identical contents withdiffering sets of watermark information added thereto;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of decomposing/composingstreams in a delivery network node using two video streams according tothe fourth example of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of composing threedifferent types of streams in the delivery network node from two videostreams according to a fifth example of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of using error correctioncodes in addition ID information according to a sixth example of thepresent invention;

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of detecting the additionID information with the error correction code from edited/tampered videocontents according to the sixth example of the present invention; and

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of detecting the additionID information with the error correction code from frame rate-convertedvideo contents according to the sixth example of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

First, an outline of the present invention is described with referenceto FIGS.3 and 4.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of adigital watermark-containing moving image transmission system of thepresent invention. The digital watermark-containing moving imagetransmission system of the present invention includes moving image inputmeans 21 for inputting one type of moving image data;watermark-containing data generating means 20 for embedding differingsets of digital watermark information into the input image data tocreate plural watermark-containing moving image data series, andencoding the created watermark-containing moving image data series; IDinformation adding means 30 for generating a new moving image dataseries from the plural watermark-containing moving image data seriesbased on at least one of moving image identification information,time/date information, and/or user information; a moving imagereproducing apparatus 40 that includes reproducing means for decodingand displaying the moving image data series generated by the IDinformation adding means 30; and an addition ID information detectingapparatus 50 that divides the moving image data series displayed by themoving image reproducing apparatus 40 into regions and detects theaddition ID information for each of the divided regions using digitalwatermark detecting means.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a digitalwatermark-containing moving image transmission method of the presentinvention. The digital watermark-containing moving image transmissionmethod for storing and displaying digital moving image data includes thesteps of inputting one type of moving image data (step 1); embeddingdiffering sets of digital watermark information into the input movingimage data to create plural watermark-containing moving image dataseries and encoding the watermark-containing moving image data series(step 2);

generating a new moving image data series from the pluralwatermark-containing moving image data series based on at least one ofmoving image identification information, time/date information, and/oruser information (step 3); decoding and displaying the generated movingimage data series (step 4); and dividing the displayed moving image dataseries into regions and detecting addition ID information for each ofthe divided regions using a digital watermark detecting circuit (step5).

In the following, embodiments of the present invention are describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an apparatus configuration according toa first embodiment of the present invention.

The apparatus shown in this drawing includes a moving image database(DB) 10, an encoded data generating unit 20, an ID information addingunit 30, a reproducing unit 40, and an addition ID extracting unit 50.

The encoded data generating unit 20 includes an input unit 21, twowatermark adding units 22A and 22B, two encoding units 23A and 23B, andtwo encoded data storage units 24A and 24B.

The input unit 21 is configured to read moving image data from themoving image DB 10, divide the read data into two, and output thedivided data to the watermark adding units 22A and 22B, respectively.

The watermark adding units 22A and 22B are configured to embedrespectively two sets of digital watermark information that are preparedbeforehand into the two sets of moving image data.

It is noted that encoding units 23A and 23B may correspond to encodingcircuits. The encoding units 23A and 23B are configured to encode andcompress the digital watermark-embedded moving image data that areoutput from the watermark adding units 22A and 22B, respectively.

The encoded data storage units 24A and 24B are configured to storemoving image data that are encoded and compressed by the encoding units23A and 23B, respectively.

The ID information adding unit 30 includes a frame selecting unit 31 andan addition ID generating unit 32.

It is noted that the frame selecting unit 31 may correspond to aselector circuit. The frame selecting unit 31 is configured to selectimage data output from either the encoded data storage unit 24A or 24Bof the encoded data generating unit 20 according to addition IDinformation supplied from the addition ID generating unit 32 and add theaddition ID information to the selected image data to recompose onemoving image data series.

The addition ID generating unit 32 is configured to encode informationfor identifying moving image data such as moving image identificationinformation (contents information), data/time information, and/or userinformation as addition ID information, and supply the ID information tothe frame selecting unit 31.

The reproducing unit 40 includes an image decoding unit 41. The imagedecoding unit 41 is configured to directly decode the moving image dataseries with addition ID information added thereto that is supplied fromthe addition ID information adding unit 30, and display the decodedimage at a display unit 42 (e.g., monitor or a projector).

The addition ID extracting unit 50 includes a digital watermarkdetecting unit 51 and an addition ID determining unit 52.

The digital watermark detecting unit 51 is configured to detect adigital watermark from the displayed image data using a known digitalwatermark detecting circuit.

The addition ID determining unit 52 is configured to retrieve theaddition ID information from a series made up of a combination of thedetected watermark information. It is noted that the addition IDinformation retrieved in this case may correspond to moving imageidentification information, time/date information, and/or userinformation, for example.

In the following, the data series generated at the ID information addingunit 30 is described.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data series generated at the IDinformation adding unit according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

At the frame selecting unit 31, a stream containing watermark A (streamA) that is obtained by embedding digital watermark A into a video streamand encoding the video stream, and a stream containing watermark B(stream B) that is obtained by embedding digital watermark B into avideo stream and encoding the video stream are input. The input digitalwatermark-containing streams A and B have a marker in each frame thatincludes a frame length, a frame number, and a frame head marker forenabling division of the respective streams into frame units, and thestreams A and B each made up of a sequence of such frames include streamhead markers at their respective heads. The frame selecting unit 31selects frames of either stream A or stream B with the same frame numberbased on the addition ID information, and connects the selected framesto compose and output one stream (data series).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating operations according to a firstembodiment of the present invention.

Step 101: at the addition ID generating unit 32, generate addition IDinformation beforehand.

Step 102: at the input unit 21, read moving image data from the movingimage DB 10, divide the moving image data into two, and output thedivided image data to the watermark adding units 22A and 22B,respectively.

Step 103: at the watermark adding units 22A and 22B, embed differingsets of digital watermark information into the moving image data, andoutput the digital watermark-embedded moving image data to the encodingunits 23A and 23B, respectively.

Step 104: at the encoding units 23A and 23B, perform encoding andcompression processes on the digital watermark-embedded moving imagedata.

Step 105: write the encoded/compressed moving image data in the encodeddata storage units 24A and 24B, respectively.

Step 106: at the frame selecting unit 31, select/discard the encodedmoving image data from the two encoded data storage units 24A and 24Bbased on the addition ID information, and recompose one moving imagedata series.

Step 107: at the image decoding unit 41, decode and display therecomposed moving image data (series) at the display unit 42.

Step 108: extract a digital watermark from the image data displayed bythe display unit 42 using a known digital watermark detecting circuit,and retrieve the addition ID information from the extracted digitalwatermark.

According to the present embodiment, plural data encoding processes, IDadding processes, and moving image data decoding processes may beperformed within one apparatus. That is, the present embodiment relatesto a locally closed moving image system that does not use a network.This system is conceived in consideration of a case in which a thirdperson illegally copies a moving image by capturing image data displayedon a projector or a monitor using a camera, for example, as opposed toobtaining a digital copy of the moving image data.

In the following, processes of the ID information adding unit (circuit)30 are described in detail.

It is noted that in the following descriptions, it is assumed that theformat of the addition ID information (e.g., information order andsize), the type (number) of the digital watermark, and the bit sequenceof the addition ID information (manner of combining moving image datawith differing digital watermarks) are uniquely defined in the systembeforehand.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an ID information adding circuit thatdecomposes/composes a video stream in frame units (time series) and anaddition ID information extracting circuit according to the firstembodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated example, theframe selecting unit 31 of the ID information adding unit 30 is realizedby a selector 311, two frame partition detecting circuits 322A and 322B,and two buffers 323A and 323B; and the addition ID generating unit 32 ofthe ID adding unit 30 is realized by an addition ID informationiterative transmission circuit 321.

In FIG. 8, at the frame selecting unit 31, encoded moving image datainto which two different sets of digital watermark information areembedded are stored in the buffers 323A and 323B, respectively. Whilesynchronizing the time progression of the two streams corresponding tothe stored moving image data, the streams are divided into frame dataunits by the frame partition detecting circuits 322A and 322B,respectively, and the divided frame data are transmitted to the selector311.

The selector 311 selects and outputs either of the transmitted framedata according to the addition ID information that is transmitted onebit at a time from the addition ID information iterative transmissioncircuit 321 in accordance with the frame periods.

At an addition ID information extracting circuit directly receiving themoving image data series (video data), the image signal is decoded andreproduced by the image decoding circuit 41, after which watermarkinformation is retrieved by the digital watermark detecting circuit(digital watermark detecting unit) 51 to obtain addition ID informationfrom an arrangement of two types of digital watermarks. It is noted thatthe addition ID information extracting circuit of FIG. 8 may be realizedby the reproducing unit 40 and the addition ID extracting unit 50 ofFIG. 5.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to asecond embodiment of the present invention.

The illustrated system includes an image server 100, a terminal 200, anaddition ID extracting apparatus 300, and a network 400 thatinterconnects the image server 100 and the terminal 200.

It is noted that in the illustrated example, only one image server 100and one terminal 200 are shown for the sake of simplifying the followingdescriptions; however, the system may be made up of plural image servers100 and plural terminals 200 as well.

The image server 100 includes a moving image database (DB) 110, anencoded data generating unit 120, an ID information adding unit 130, anda communication unit 101. It is noted that the moving image database(DB) 110, the encoded data generating unit 120, and the ID informationadding unit 130 have functions identical to those of the moving imagedatabase (DB) 10, the encoded data generating unit 20, and the IDinformation adding unit 30 of the first embodiment, and thereby,detailed descriptions of these components are omitted.

The terminal 200 includes a network transmitting unit 244, an imagedecoding unit 241, a network receiving unit 243, and a display unit 242.It is noted that the image decoding unit 241 and the display unit 242have functions identical to those of the image decoding unit 41 anddisplay unit 42 of the first embodiment, and thereby, detaileddescriptions of these components are omitted.

The network transmitting unit 244 is configured to issue a moving imagedata request to the image server 100.

The network receiving unit 243 receives from the image server 100encoded digital watermark-containing moving image data having IDinformation added thereto via the network 400.

It is noted that the addition ID detecting unit 350 of the addition IDextracting apparatus 300 has functions that are identical to those ofthe addition ID extracting unit 50 of the first embodiment, and thereby,detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

FIG. 10 is a sequence chart illustrating operations according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention.

Step 201: issue a moving image data request at the network transmittingunit 244 for transmission from the terminal 200 to the image server 100.

Step 202: at the image server 100, when the communication unit 101receives the request from the terminal 200, read the moving image datafrom the moving image DB 110, and embed digital watermarks into themoving image data at the encoded data generating unit 120.

Step 203: further, at the encoded data generating unit 120, performencoding/compression processes on the digital watermark-embedded movingimage data, and store the encoded moving image data.

Step 204: at the ID information adding unit 130, select/discard thestored moving image data based on the addition ID information, add theaddition ID information, recompose the moving image data, and generateone moving image data series. It is noted that these processes areidentical to the operation processes of FIGS.6 and 8 described inrelation to the first embodiment.

Step 205: transmit the recomposed moving image data (series) from thecommunication unit 101 to the terminal 200 requesting for the movingimage data via the network 400.

Step 206: at the terminal 200, receive the moving image data (series)delivered from the image server 100 at the network receiving unit 243,and decode the received moving image data at the image decoding unit241.

Step 207: display the decoded moving image data at the display unit 242.

Step 208: input the image data displayed at the display unit 242 to theaddition ID extracting apparatus 300.

Step 209: detect a digital watermark from the image data at the additionID detecting unit 350 of the addition ID extracting apparatus 300.

Step 210: retrieve the addition ID information from the detectedwatermarks based on the series of combined watermark information.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to athird embodiment of the present invention.

The illustrated system includes an image server 100, a terminal 200, adelivery network node 500, an addition ID extracting apparatus 300, anda network 400 interconnecting the image server 100, the terminal 200,and the delivery network node 500. It is noted that FIG. 17 illustratesa network configuration including plural image servers, plural deliverynetwork nodes, and plural terminals; detailed operations performed insuch a case are described later with reference to FIG. 17.

The system according to the present embodiment is characterized in thatthe functions of the ID information adding unit 130 of the imager server100 in the second embodiment are realized in a delivery network node500.

The delivery network node 500 includes an ID information adding unit 530and a communication unit 510.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a delivery networknode according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Theillustrated delivery network node 500 includes an interface 501 with aninterconnecting node, a data transmitting unit 502, a router switch 503,a stream separating unit 504, two buffers 323A and 323B, two framepartition detecting circuits 322A and 322B, a selector 311, and aswitching timing signal output unit 301. It is noted that in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 12, the addition ID information is received from theimage server, the terminal, or another node, for example, via thenetwork 400; however, addition ID information kept in the deliverynetwork node may be used as well.

The interface 501 with an interconnecting node (e.g., another deliverynetwork node) includes plural data receiving units. Encoded moving imagestreams including watermark information A and B, respectively, andaddition ID information may be received through one of the datareceiving units of the interface 501 with an interconnecting node. Therouter switch 503 for separating and transmitting data is configured toseparate data for each destination terminal and delivery network towhich a moving image is to be delivered. The received data are separatedinto two moving image streams along with addition ID information. Then,selection and composition processes are performed on the two streams bythe selector 311 according to the addition ID information in a mannersimilar to that described in FIG. 8, and a moving image stream inaccordance with the addition ID information is transmitted from the datatransmitting unit 502 to the destination terminal 200. It is noted thatin another example, the output of the selector 311 may be transmittedvia the router switch 503 so that data may be output from a datatransmitting unit 502 in accordance with the data transmissiondestination.

FIG. 13 is a sequence chart illustrating operations according to thethird embodiment of the present invention.

Step 301: issue and transmit a request for moving image data from theterminal 200 to the image server 100 via the delivery network node 500.

Step 302: in the image server 100, when the communication unit 101receives the request from the terminal 200, read the moving image datafrom the moving image DB 110, and embed digital watermarks into themoving image data at the encoded data generating unit 120.

Step 303: further, at the encoded data generating unit 120, performencoding/compression processes on the digital watermark-embedded movingimage data and store the encoded moving image data.

Step 304: transmit the stored moving image data from the communicationunit 101 to the delivery network node 500.

Step 305: at the communication unit 510 of the delivery network node500, receive plural sets of encoded/compressed moving image data withdiffering digital watermarks embedded therein that are transmitted fromthe image server 100; and at the ID information adding unit 530,select/discard the received moving image data based on addition IDinformation, add ID information to the selected moving image data, andrecompose the selected moving image data to generate one moving imagedata series.

Step 306: transmit the recomposed moving image data (series) via thenetwork 400 to the terminal requesting for the moving image data.

Step 307: in the terminal 200, receive the moving image data (series)delivered from the image server 100 at the network receiving unit 243,and decode the received moving image data at the image decoding unit241.

Step 308: display the decoded moving image data at the display unit 242.

Step 309: input the image data displayed by the display unit 242 to theaddition ID information extracting apparatus 300.

Step 310: in the addition ID information extracting apparatus 300,detect the digital watermark from the input image data at the additionID detecting unit 350.

Step 311: retrieve addition ID information from the series of detectedwatermarks.

EXAMPLES

In the following, specific examples of the present invention aredescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Example

The present example illustrates a specific example of embedding additionID information into encoded digital watermark-embedded moving imagedata.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a case of adding five bits of IDinformation according to the first example.

This drawing illustrates an example of decomposing/composing a videostream in frame units (time series) according to addition IDinformation, wherein each bit of the addition ID information indicatesthe type of digital watermark to be retrieved.

This drawing illustrates a case in which the selector 311 selects framesfrom two series of moving image data (video streams) corresponding toidentical video contents having two types of digital watermarks “A” and“B” added thereto, the selection being based on addition ID information“01010” which results in the composition of addition IDinformation-containing moving image data made up of five consecutiveframes; namely, a first frame with digital watermark “A”, a second framewith digital watermark “B”, a third frame with digital watermark “A”, afourth frame with digital watermark “B”, and a fifth frame with digitalwatermark “A”.

At the reception side, “ABABA” is detected from the consecutive framesto determine the addition ID information “01010”. It is noted thatalthough two types of digital watermarks are used in the illustratedexample, as a general rule, when 2^(n) types of digital watermarks areused, n bits of addition ID information may be used to indicate the typeof digital watermark.

Generally, the manner in which digital watermarks are added and themanner in which the digital watermarks are detected are kept asconfidential information by the rightful owner of the contents. In thecase of using the conventional spectral diffusion scheme of FIG. 1, theinsertion position of watermark information bits on the divided imageplane and the pseudo random number data correspond to confidential data.Such data may not be known to users of the contents. When the contentsare illegally copied and distributed, the rightful owner may conductwatermark detection on the distributed contents to acquire the additionID information.

The addition ID information may include static information pertaining tothe video contents such as title information and copyright information,the registered number of the apparatus including the ID informationadding unit 30, and the delivery destination user name, the deliverytime/date, and the delivery route over the network for each contentsdelivery session, for example. By adding unique information to thecontents being delivered, an illegal user may be accurately identified.It is noted that in the case of encoding the addition ID information,encryption of the addition ID information may be performed (in such acase, decoding of the encryption is performed in the addition IDdecoding process performed at the addition ID extracting side).

Second Example

In the following, another example of adding addition ID information isdescribed where video contents are composed by selecting one group ofconsecutive frames per unit from plural groups of image data serieshaving differing sets of digital watermark information according toaddition ID information which video contents are then delivered.

It is noted that in an encoding scheme represented by the MPEG schemethat relies on inter-frame difference in information compression, theencoded video stream may not be decomposed into individual frame dataunits. However, even in such an encoding scheme, the encoding process isstill performed in units of the so-called GOP (Group of Pictures) madeup of several to several dozen frames. Accordingly, instead of changingthe watermark information in frame units, contents including watermarkinformation may be selected in GOP units according to the addition IDinformation to compose one stream.

Third Example

The example described below illustrates a case of spatially dividingindividual image frames, selecting from plural image data series havingdiffering digital watermark information one divided image plane regionper unit according to addition ID information, composing plural of theselected divided image plane regions, and reproducing the composed videocontents.

In the case of using image plane division in adding addition IDinformation, a number of connections equal to the number of image planedivisions are established between the moving image server and thedelivery network node for each type of watermark information.Specifically, when the division number is equal to n, and two types ofwatermark information, A and B, are used, 2n connections areestablished. Then, for each connection, a frame partitionsymbol-containing video stream of one divided image plane is transmittedfrom the moving image server to the delivery network node, and either avideo frame containing digital watermark A or a video frame containingdigital watermark B is selected per divided image plane unit accordingto the addition ID information (i.e., 0 or 1). Then, the selecteddivided image planes are composed into data for transmission to a uservideo terminal.

It is noted that the selection per divided image plane unit and theselection per frame unit may be used together. For example, time/dateinformation may be embedded in the selection process performed perdivided image unit, and other information may be embedded in theselection process performed per frame unit. A code representing eachframe may be set using one divided image plane as a parity bit, whereinif the number of divided image planes representing “1” out of all thedivided image planes corresponds to an even number, the code is set to“0”, and if this number corresponds to an odd number, the code is set to“1”, for example.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ID information addingcircuit that decomposes/composes a video stream in divided image planeunits according to the third example. This drawing illustrates a methodof assigning digital watermark information to each divided region offrames of a moving image. In the illustrated example, first, an imageplane is divided into two regions; namely, into left and right sideregions or upper and lower regions. Then, using four buffers 323A, 323B,323C, 323D, and four frame partition detecting circuits 322A, 322B,322C, 322D, two differing types of addition ID information are added toeach region. For example, in the case where the image plane is dividedinto upper and lower regions, the buffers 323A, 323B and the framepartition detecting circuits 322A, 322B may be used for the upper imageplane region, and the buffers 323C, 323D, and the frame partitiondetecting circuits 322C and 322D may be used for the lower divided imageplane region.

In the example of FIG. 15, addition ID information of two bits may beused per frame period. Selectors 311A and 311B are used to determinewhether to select the video contents (stream) including the watermark Aor B for the two divided regions, respectively. The elements of thedivided image planes selected for the respective regions are combined ata frame composing circuit 324 and output. It is noted that in thisexample, it is assumed that the respective regions contain digitalwatermark information. Specifically, for example, in the case of usingthe watermark information A and B, at the moving image server, an imageplane is divided into regions, and a moving image containing watermark Aand a moving image containing watermark B are generated from the movingimage of the respective regions after which the generated moving imagesare encoded.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a case of decomposing and composing avideo stream in divided image plane units based on addition IDinformation according to the third example. In the illustrated example,an image plane is divided into 16 regions, and a frame is selected perdivided region from video contents (streams) including two differingtypes of digital watermark information after which the selected framesare composed. In this case, 16 bits of information may be used asaddition ID information per frame. In order to detect the addition IDinformation, each frame of a received image may be divided into 16regions, and a digital watermark detecting circuit may be used to detectwhich watermark information is included in each of the divided regions.

According to the method using image plane division as is describedabove, the amount of information that may be added to one frame may beincreased by increasing the number of image plane divisions. However,with such an increase, the number of pixels per divided image plane isdecreased resulting in the degradation of the detection accuracy of thedigital watermark information. In a case where an upper limit is imposedon the number of divisions, a method of developing addition IDinformation between frames in the temporal direction may be used alongwith the above method.

It is noted that the above-described means for assigning differing typesof digital watermarks to one type of video contents to create pluralvideo streams, and decomposing and composing the video streams accordingto addition ID information may be implemented at the image server 100according to the previously-described second embodiment. Also, the abovemeans may be implemented at an edge delivery network node 500 that isclosest to the user terminal 200 in the network delivery systemaccording to the previously-described third embodiment.

Fourth Example

The present example illustrates a case of applying the system accordingto the third embodiment to a video delivery technique using plural videostreams corresponding to identical video contents with differingwatermark information.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary video delivery systemaccording to a fourth example of the present invention. As is shown inthe drawing, the present system includes video servers 100 as imageservers, user terminals 200, and plural delivery network nodes 500provided between the user terminals 200 and the video servers 100,wherein each content user/user (video) terminal is arranged to beconnected to a designated delivery network node 500.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary case of performing streamdecomposition/composition in a delivery network node using two videostreams according to the fourth example of the present invention.

According to the present example, instead of composing a video streamfor each user at the video server 100 and individually delivering thevideo stream over the network 400, two or more series of video streamscontaining differing digital watermark information may bedecomposed/composed according to addition ID information for each userat the delivery network node 500 as is shown in FIG. 18. In this way,the capacity of video streams distributed over the entire network may belimited to a certain number regardless of the number of users, andthereby, the required network transmission capacity may be significantlyreduced.

In the following, the delivery network node 500 used in the fourthexample is described in greater detail. The delivery network node 500used in the fourth example includes the configuration shown in FIG. 12.As is shown in FIG. 12, the delivery network node 500 is configured toreceive a stream including digital watermark A, a stream includingdigital watermark B, and addition ID information from another node. Itis noted that the addition ID information may be generated by an IDinformation adding unit (not shown) that is provided in the deliverynetwork node 500. Also, it is noted that in the example shown in FIG.12, plural types of addition information may be received.

The addition ID information may include moving image identificationinformation, time/date information, and user information, for example,details of which are described below.

The moving image identification information may be transmitted to thedelivery network node 500 from the image server (video server) and/or animage data management server (not shown), and may include content IDand/or copyright ID information unique to the moving image contents, andID information unique to the image server such as IP address informationand/or MAC address information, for example.

The time/date information may be transmitted from an online time serverusing a time information protocol (e.g., NTP, Network Time Protocol,RFC-1305), for example. The time/date information to be addedcorresponds to the timing at which the time/date information is added asaddition ID information and is obtained from the time server by thedelivery network node 500. In this way, the time and date at which thevideo stream passes the delivery network node 500 may be recorded.

The user information may be transmitted from the user video terminal200, and/or user management server (not shown), for example, and mayinclude ID information unique to the user video terminal 200 such as IPaddress information and/or MAC address information, for example.

Also, the delivery network node 500 may use its own identificationinformation as the addition ID information. The identificationinformation of the delivery network node 500 may include ID informationunique to the delivery network node such as IP address informationand/or MAC address information, for example.

It is noted that in the case of using corresponding IP addressinformation as ID information unique to the image server and IDinformation unique to the user video terminal, a source address and adestination address may be acquired from a header portion of an IPpacket, and the acquired address information may be used as addition IDinformation. Also, in the case of using MAC address information, asource MAC address and a destination MAC address may be acquired from aheader portion of the Ethernet, and the acquired address information maybe used as addition ID information.

Also, it is noted that content ID and copyright ID that are unique tothe moving image contents may be embedded as moving image identificationinformation into one or both of digital watermarks A and B. In thiscase, the delivery network node 500 does not have to newly add thecontent ID and/or copyright ID to moving image contents.

As is described above, an edge delivery network node 500 that is closestto a user video terminal 200 temporarily stores encoded video dataseries (video streams) as illustrated in FIG. 6 with digital watermarksA and B transmitted from an image server in buffers 323A and 323B,respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 12, and the data may be rearrangedin proper order as is necessary or desired. Then, the frame partitiondetecting circuits 322A and 322B detect the frame head markers (framepartition symbols) of the respective video streams, and divide therespective streams into frame units. Then, the selector 311 selects oneof the two video streams for each frame in response to a switchingtiming signal that is output by the switching timing signal output unit301 and according to addition ID information (binary data represented by0 and 1) to thereby create a video stream to be transmitted to anotherdelivery network node 500 or a user video terminal 200.

Also, it is noted that a predetermined pattern (e.g., eight consecutive“0”s) is inserted to the front and back ends of addition ID informationas partition symbols (delimiters), and the addition information isiteratively transmitted at predetermined intervals. By arranging anaddition ID detecting apparatus to detect such delimiters, the iterativeaddition ID information may be reproduced.

In a case where video streams are delivered from an image server to auser video terminal via plural delivery network nodes 500 as isillustrated by the network configuration shown in FIG. 17, differingaddition ID information may be added at the intermediate deliverynetwork nodes between the image server 100 and the user video terminal200.

For example, at an edge delivery network node that is closest to animage server, ID information unique to the moving image server, IDinformation of the edge node, and time/date information pertaining tothe timing at which the video streams pass through this node may beadded. Then, at an intermediate delivery network node, ID information ofthis intermediate delivery network node and time/date informationpertaining to the timing at which the video streams pass through thisdelivery network node may be added. Further, at an edge delivery networknode that is closest to the user video terminal, ID information of thisedge delivery network node, time/date information pertaining to thetiming at which the vide streams pass through this delivery networknode, and ID information unique to the user video terminal may be added.

According to such an arrangement, the respective delivery network nodesreceive a video stream of digital watermark A and a video stream ofdigital watermark B in addition to the addition ID information and thevideo stream with delimiters added thereto.

The edge delivery network node that is closest to the user videoterminal successively delivers the video stream of digital watermark Bcorresponding to “1”, for example, to the user video terminal during theinterval after the video stream with the respective items of addition IDinformation and the delimiters added thereto is delivered and beforetransmission of a next succession of addition ID information is started.

The delivery network nodes other than the edge delivery network nodethat is closest to the user video terminal operate in the mannerdescribed below. During the time the video stream with the respectiveaddition ID information and the delimiters added thereto is beingtransmitted, only the video stream is delivered to the next deliverynetwork node. During the time before transmission of the next successionof addition ID information is started, the video stream of the digitalwatermark A and the video stream of the digital watermark B are bothdirectly transmitted. By transmitting the video streams of watermarks Aand B in this manner, at the next delivery network node, furtheraddition ID information may be added using the time during which boththe video stream of the watermark A and the video stream of thewatermark B are remaining at the node.

Therefore, the transmission interval for successively transmittingplural sets of addition ID information partitioned by the delimiters isdetermined in consideration of the length of the final addition IDinformation to be added. Also, in the case of successively addingdiffering addition ID information through intermediate network nodes,the required network transmission capacity may change depending on thenumber of users.

Fifth Example

The present example relates to a case of composing three types ofstreams in the delivery network node 500 from two video streams.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating the fifth example of the presentinvention. This drawing illustrates an example of adding two differingtypes of digital watermarks (A, B) to moving image data corresponding tothe same original moving image data 10 using a watermark adding/encodingcircuit 120, and storing the moving image data series respectivelyhaving the two differing types of watermarks (A, B) into two imageservers 100A and 100B on the network 400.

The servers 100A and 100B transmit via network transmitting circuits101A and 101B two series of moving image data to each of three deliverynetwork nodes 500 having ID information adding circuits 530 that areconnected to the network 400. Each delivery network node 500 is arrangedto receive moving image data, generate addition ID information accordingto the site (terminal) at which the moving image data are to bedisplayed, and recompose a moving image data series by conducting aselecting/discarding process on the two series according to thegenerated addition ID information.

The composed moving image data series is received at the networkreceiving circuit 243 of the terminal 200 and decoded at the imagedecoding circuit 241 to be displayed/reproduced. In this case, even whenthe number of nodes and/or the number of sites (terminals) receiving theimage data series is increased, the moving image data series may beidentified by the different ID information, and thereby, only two typesof large capacity moving image data series need to be transmitted overthe network 400.

Sixth Example

In one scenario, a malicious user may tamper with delivered contents byreceiving at least two video streams and editing the received videostreams to reconstruct one video stream. The present example illustratesmeasures for countering such an attack.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a case of using error correction codeas addition ID information according to a sixth example of the presentinvention; FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a case of detectingaddition ID information through error correction from edited/tamperedwith video contents according to the sixth example of the presentinvention; and FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a case of detectingaddition ID information through error correction fromframe-rate-converted video contents according to the sixth example ofthe present invention.

In order to counter an attack made by a malicious user, an errorcorrection encoding circuit 325 may be used to provide redundancy to theaddition ID information beforehand as is shown in FIG. 20.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 21, when two sets of contentscorresponding to the same contents with differing addition IDinformation included therein are received and a patched up stream isreconstructed through editing, the digital watermark informationdetected from this video stream may be in a shredded state. However, byproviding redundancy to the addition ID information, the addition IDinformation in its original state may be properly reproduced.

Also, by implementing redundant encoding, addition ID information may bereproduced from frame-rate-converted video. For example, as isillustrated in FIG. 22, in the case of performing 2:3pull-down-conversion of a 24 frame/sec movie into a 30 frame/sec videoadapted for television, one frame out of five frames of the 30frames/sec video may overlap with a preceding frame. It is noted thatwhether such an overlapping portion appears periodically depends on theframe rate conversion method, and is thereby not limited to one way orthe other. In the case of detecting digital watermark information fromvideo contents converted according to various frame rate conversionmethods to obtain the original series of digital watermark informationat 24 frames/sec, the digital watermark information may be properlyreproduced through error correction coding even when theframe-rate-converted series of watermark information is intermittentlymissing due to use of a given skipping method.

Also, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the apparatusconfiguration shown in FIG. 5 may be realized by a program. In such acase, the encoded data storage unit 24 of the encoded data generatingunit 20 may be used as a storage medium such as a hard disk. Further,the program may be installed in a computer that is used as a digitalwatermark-containing moving image processing apparatus and be executedby control means such as a CPU. Also, the program may be distributed viaa network.

Also, the apparatus configurations of the image server, the terminal,and the addition ID extracting apparatus may be realized by programs aswell. In such a case, the programs may be installed in computers thatare used as the image server, the terminal, and the addition IDextracting apparatus, and may be executed by control means such as aCPU. Also, such programs may be distributed via a network.

Similarly, the apparatus configurations of the image server, theterminal, the delivery network node, and the addition ID informationextracting apparatus of FIG. 11 may be realized by programs as well. Theprograms may be installed in computers being used as the image server,the terminal, the delivery network node, and the addition ID informationextracting apparatus, and may be executed by control means such as aCPU. Also, the programs may be distributed via a network.

Also, it is noted that the programs may be stored in hard diskapparatuses or movable storage media such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROMthat are connected to the computers used as the image server, theterminal, the delivery network node, and the addition ID informationextracting apparatus. In such cases, the programs may be read from thestorage media and executed by control means such as a CPU uponimplementing the present invention.

As is described above, according to the present invention, a movingimage data series with at least one of individual ID or securityinformation for each individual user added thereto may be deliveredaccording to a request issued by the relevant user. In this way, whencontents copied with malicious intent are distributed to a third person,a determination may be made as to when and by whom the contents havebeen delivered so that a significant contribution may be made topreventing illegal copying of contents.

Particularly, as is illustrated in the configuration of delivery networknodes shown in FIG. 17, by adding the time/date information pertainingto the timing at which identification information and addition IDinformation are added, the passage route of the relevant video streammay be determined so as to make a further contribution to preventingillegal copying.

Also, since text information may be added as digital watermarkinformation beforehand, high-work load real-time processing may beunnecessary upon delivery.

Further, methods that require high computational work load and are notsuitable for real-time processing may be used in the present invention,and thereby, a method of assigning a digital watermark with highresistance to processing and compression may be used. It is noted thatthere may be cases in which complete addition ID information cannot beretrieved from individual frames; however, provided that a subject videohas a sufficient running time for serving its purpose of displayingvideo contents, addition ID information may be properly detected fromsuch video.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the embodimentsdescribed above, and variations and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

1. A digital watermark-containing moving image transmission system,comprising: a moving image reproducing apparatus that includes movingimage input means for inputting one type of moving image data;watermark-containing data generating means for embedding a plurality ofdiffering sets of digital watermark information into the input movingimage data, creating a plurality of watermark-containing moving imagedata series, and encoding the created watermark-containing moving imagedata series; ID information adding means for generating a new movingimage data series from the watermark-containing moving image data seriesbased on addition ID information including coded informationcorresponding to at least one of moving image identificationinformation, time/date information, and user information; andreproducing means for decoding and displaying the moving image dataseries generated by the ID information adding means; and an addition IDinformation detecting apparatus that divides the moving image dataseries displayed by the moving image reproducing apparatus into aplurality of regions, and detects the addition ID information for eachof the divided regions using a digital watermark detecting circuit.
 2. Adigital watermark-containing moving image transmission system,comprising at least one image server that includes moving image inputmeans for inputting one type of moving image data; watermark-containingdata generating means for embedding a plurality of differing sets ofdigital watermark information into the input moving image data, creatinga plurality of watermark-containing moving image data series, andencoding the created watermark-containing moving image data series; IDinformation adding means for generating a new moving image data seriesfrom the watermark-containing moving image data series based on additionID information including coded information corresponding to at least oneof moving image identification information, time/date information, anduser information; and moving image delivering means for delivering themoving image data series generated by the ID information adding means toa network; at least one terminal that includes reproducing means fordecoding and displaying the moving image data series generated by the IDinformation adding means; and an addition ID detecting apparatus thatdivides the moving image data series displayed by the terminal into aplurality of regions, and detects the addition ID information for eachof the divided regions using a digital watermark detecting circuit.
 3. Adigital watermark-containing moving image transmission systemcomprising: at least one image server that includes moving image inputmeans for inputting one type of moving image data; andwatermark-containing data generating means for embedding a plurality ofdiffering sets of digital watermark information into the input movingimage data, creating a plurality of watermark-containing moving imagedata series, encoding the created watermark-containing moving image dataseries, and transmitting the encoded watermark-containing moving imagedata series to a network; at least one delivery network node thatincludes ID information adding means for generating a new moving imagedata series from the watermark-containing moving image data series basedon addition ID information including coded information corresponding toat least one of moving image identification information, time/dateinformation, and user information; and moving image delivering means fordelivering the moving image data series generated by the ID informationadding means to the network; at least one terminal that includesreproducing means for decoding and displaying the moving image dataseries received via the network; and an addition ID detecting apparatusthat divides the moving image data series displayed by the terminal intoa plurality of regions, and detects the addition ID information for eachof the divided regions using a digital watermark detecting circuit. 4.The digital watermark-containing moving image transmission system asclaimed in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein the ID informationadding means is configured to successively select one from a pluralityof image frames of the plural moving image data series based on theaddition ID information and output the successively selected imageframes as the new moving image data series.
 5. The digitalwatermark-containing moving image transmission system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 through 3, wherein the ID information adding means isconfigured to successively select one group from a plurality of groupsof image frames of the plural moving image data series based on theaddition ID information and output the successively selected group ofimage frames as the new moving image data series.
 6. The digitalwatermark-containing moving image transmission system as claimed in anyone of claims 1 through 3, wherein each of a plurality of image framesof the plural moving image data series is spatially divided into aplurality of regions, and a plurality of divided region moving imagedata series are generated for each of the divided regions; and the IDinformation adding means is configured to successively select one from aplurality of divided region image frames of the plural divided regionmoving image data series corresponding to one of the divided regionsbased on the addition ID information, compose the successively selecteddivided region image frames corresponding to said one of the dividedregions with successively selected divided region image framescorresponding to another one of the divided regions, and output thecomposed divided region image frames as the new moving image dataseries.
 7. The digital watermark-containing moving image transmissionsystem as claimed in any one of claims 4 through 6, further comprising:means for performing redundant encoding on the addition ID informationbeforehand.
 8. A digital watermark-containing moving image transmissionmethod for storing and displaying digital moving image data, the methodcomprising the steps of: inputting one type of moving image data;embedding a plurality of differing sets of digital watermark informationinto the input moving image data, creating-a plurality ofwatermark-containing moving image data series, and encoding the createdwatermark-containing moving image data series; generating a new movingimage data series from the watermark-containing moving image data seriesbased on addition ID information including coded informationcorresponding to at least one of moving image identificationinformation, time/date information, and user information; decoding anddisplaying the generated moving image data series; and dividing thedisplayed moving image data series into a plurality of regions anddetecting the addition ID information for each of the divided regionsusing a digital watermark detecting circuit.
 9. A digitalwatermark-containing moving image transmission method for transmittingstored digital moving image data via a network and reproducing thedigital moving image data at a terminal that is connected to thenetwork, the method comprising: steps performed by an image serverconnected to the network, which steps include inputting one type ofmoving image data; embedding a plurality of differing sets of digitalwatermark information into the input moving image data, creating aplurality of watermark-containing moving image data series, and encodingthe created watermark-containing moving image data series; generating anew moving image data series from the watermark-containing moving imagedata series based on addition ID information including coded informationcorresponding to at least one of moving image identificationinformation, time/date information, and user information; and deliveringthe generated moving image data series to the network; steps performedby the terminal, which steps include decoding and displaying the movingimage data series delivered from the image server via the network; andsteps performed by an addition ID information detecting apparatusconnected to the terminal, which steps include dividing the moving imagedata series displayed by the terminal into a plurality of regions anddetecting the addition ID information for each of the divided regionsusing a digital watermark detecting circuit.
 10. A digitalwatermark-containing moving image transmission method for transmittingstored digital moving image data via a network and reproducing thedigital moving image data at a terminal that is connected to thenetwork, the method comprising: steps performed by an image serverconnected to the network, which steps include inputting one type ofmoving image data; and embedding a plurality of differing sets ofdigital watermark information into the input moving image data, creatinga plurality of watermark-containing moving image data series, encodingthe created watermark-containing moving image data series, anddelivering the encoded watermark-containing moving image data series tothe network; steps performed by at least one delivery network node onthe network, which steps include generating a new moving image dataseries from the watermark-containing moving image data series based onaddition ID information including coded information corresponding to atleast one of moving image identification information, time/dateinformation, and user information; and delivering the generated movingimage data series to the terminal via the network; steps performed bythe terminal, which steps include decoding and displaying the movingimage data series received via the network; and steps performed by anaddition ID information detecting apparatus connected to the terminal,which steps include dividing the moving image data series displayed atthe terminal into a plurality of regions and detecting the addition IDinformation for each of the divided regions using a digital watermarkdetecting circuit.
 11. An information processing apparatus that isconfigured to store and display digital moving image data, the apparatuscomprising: ID information adding means for generating a new movingimage data series from a plurality of moving image data seriescorresponding to identical video contents having differingidentification information added thereto as digital watermarks, the newmoving image data series being generated based on addition IDinformation including coded information corresponding to at least one ofmoving image identification information, time/date information, and userinformation.
 12. An information processing apparatus that is configuredto transmit stored digital moving image data via a network, theapparatus comprising: moving image input means for inputting one type ofmoving image data; watermark-containing data generating means forembedding a plurality of differing sets of digital watermark informationinto the input moving image data, creating a plurality ofwatermark-containing moving image data series, and encoding the createdwatermark-containing moving image data series; and ID information addingmeans for generating a new moving image data series from thewatermark-containing moving image data series based on addition IDinformation including coded information corresponding to at least one ofmoving image identification information, time/date information, and userinformation.
 13. The information processing apparatus as claimed inclaim 11 or 12, wherein the ID information adding means is configured tosuccessively select one from a plurality of image frames of the movingimage data series based on the addition ID information and output thesuccessively selected image frames as the new moving image data series.14. The information processing apparatus as claimed in claim 11 or 12,wherein the ID information adding means is configured to successivelyselect one group from a plurality of groups of image frames of themoving image data series based on the addition ID information and outputthe successively selected group of image frames as the new moving imagedata series.
 15. The information processing apparatus as claimed inclaim 11 or 12, wherein each of a plurality of image frames of themoving image data series is spatially divided into a plurality ofregions, and a plurality of divided region moving image data series aregenerated for each of the divided regions; and the ID information addingmeans is configured to successively select one from a plurality ofdivided region image frames of the divided region moving image dataseries corresponding to one of the divided regions based on the additionID information, compose the successively selected divided region imageframes corresponding to said one of the divided regions with thesuccessively selected divided region image frames corresponding toanother one of the divided regions, and output the composed dividedregion image frames as the new moving image data series.
 16. Theinformation processing apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 13through 15, further comprising: means for performing redundant encodingon the addition ID information beforehand.
 17. A communication controlapparatus in a system including a server and a terminal that areconnected to a network, the apparatus comprising: means for receiving aplurality of watermark-containing moving image data series from theserver or another communication apparatus; ID information adding meansfor generating a new moving image data series from the receivedwatermark-containing moving image data series based on addition IDinformation including coded information corresponding to at least one ofmoving image identification information, time/date information, and userinformation; and moving image delivering means for delivering the movingimage data series generated by the ID information adding means to theterminal or another communication control apparatus.
 18. Thecommunication control apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein themoving image identification information includes at least one of contentID and copyright ID information unique to the moving image data, and IDinformation unique to the server corresponding to a sender of the movingimage data.
 19. The communication control apparatus as claimed in claim17, wherein the time/date information corresponds to informationpertaining to a time/date when the new moving image data series isgenerated by the ID information adding means.
 20. The communicationcontrol apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the user informationcorresponds to ID information unique to the terminal.
 21. Thecommunication control apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein theaddition ID information further includes coded information correspondingto ID information unique to the communication control apparatus inaddition to at least one of the moving image identification information,time/date information, and user information.
 22. The communicationcontrol apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the ID informationadding means is configured to successively select one from a pluralityof image frames of the moving image data series based on the addition IDinformation and output the successively selected image frames as the newmoving image data series.
 23. The communication control apparatus asclaimed in claim 17, wherein the ID information adding means isconfigured to successively select one group from a plurality of groupsof image frames of the plural moving image data series based on theaddition ID information and output the successively selected group ofimage frames as the new moving image data series.
 24. The communicationcontrol apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein each of a plurality ofimage frames of the moving image data series is spatially divided into aplurality of regions, and a plurality of divided region moving imagedata series is generated for each of the divided regions; and the IDinformation adding means is configured to successively select one from aplurality of divided region image frames of the divided region movingimage data series corresponding to one of the divided regions based onthe addition ID information, compose the successively selected dividedregion image frames corresponding to said one of the divided regionswith the successively selected divided region image frames correspondingto another one of the divided regions, and output the composed dividedregion image frames as the new moving image data series.
 25. Thecommunication control apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 21through 24, further comprising: means for performing redundant encodingon the addition ID information beforehand.
 26. A digitalwatermark-containing moving image processing program run on a computerfor controlling the computer to execute a process of storing anddisplaying digital moving image data, the program being executed by thecomputer to perform: an ID information adding procedure for generating anew one from a plurality of moving image data series corresponding toidentical video contents having differing identification informationadded thereto as digital watermarks, the new moving image data seriesbeing generated based on addition ID information including codedinformation corresponding to at least one of moving image identificationinformation, time/date information, and user information.
 27. A digitalwatermark-containing moving image processing program run on a computerfor controlling the computer to execute a process of storing anddisplaying digital moving image data, the program being executed by thecomputer to perform: a moving image input procedure for inputting onetype of moving image data; a watermark-containing data generatingprocedure for embedding a plurality of differing sets of digitalwatermark information into the input moving image data, creating aplurality of watermark-containing moving image data series, and encodingthe created watermark-containing moving image data series; an IDinformation adding procedure for generating a new moving image dataseries from the watermark-containing moving image data series based onaddition ID information including coded information corresponding to atleast one of moving image identification information, time/dateinformation, and user information; and a moving image deliveringprocedure for delivering the moving image data series generated in theID information adding procedure to a network.
 28. A digitalwatermark-containing moving image processing program run on a computerthat is configured to function as a communication control apparatus in asystem including a server and a terminal that are connected to anetwork, the program being executed by the computer to perform: aprocedure for receiving a plurality of watermark-containing moving imagedata series from the server or a first other communication controlapparatus; an ID information adding procedure for generating a newmoving image data series from the received watermark-containing movingimage data series based on addition ID information including codedinformation corresponding to at least one of moving image identificationinformation, time/date information, and user information; and a movingimage delivering procedure for delivering the moving image data seriesgenerated in the ID information adding procedure to the terminal or asecond other communication control apparatus.
 29. A computer-readablemedium storing a digital watermark-containing moving image processingprogram run on a computer for controlling the computer to execute aprocess of storing and displaying digital moving image data, the digitalwatermark-containing moving image processing program being executed bythe computer to perform: an ID information adding procedure forgenerating a new one from a plurality of moving image data seriescorresponding to identical video contents having differingidentification information added thereto as digital watermarks, the newmoving image data series being generated based on addition IDinformation including coded information corresponding to at least one ofmoving image identification information, time/date information, and userinformation.
 30. A computer-readable medium storing a digitalwatermark-containing moving image processing program run on a computerfor controlling the computer to process digital moving image data havingdigital watermarks embedded therein, the digital watermark-containingmoving image processing program being executed by the computer toperform: a moving image input procedure for inputting one type of movingimage data; a watermark-containing data generating procedure forembedding a plurality of differing sets of digital watermark informationinto the input moving image data, creating a plurality ofwatermark-containing moving image data series, and encoding the createdwatermark-containing moving image data series; an ID information addingprocedure for generating a new moving image data series from thewatermark-containing moving image data series based on addition IDinformation including coded information corresponding to at least one ofmoving image identification information, time/date information, and userinformation; and a moving image delivering procedure for delivering themoving image data series generated in the ID information addingprocedure to a network.
 31. A computer-readable medium storing a digitalwatermark-containing moving image processing program run on a computerthat functions as a communication control apparatus in a systemincluding a server and a terminal that are connected to a network, thedigital watermark-containing moving image processing program beingexecuted by the computer to perform: a procedure for receiving aplurality of watermark-containing moving image data series from theserver or a first other communication control apparatus; an IDinformation adding procedure for generating a new moving image dataseries from the received watermark-containing moving image data seriesbased on addition ID information including coded informationcorresponding to at least one of moving image identificationinformation, time/date information, and user information; and a movingimage delivering procedure for delivering the moving image data seriesgenerated in the ID information adding procedure to the terminal or asecond other communication control apparatus.